Cause of Death

Chapter 119

The corpses were laid out in a row in the brightly lit room, the stench of rotten flesh and preserving fluid wafting from them. Four of the corpses were starting to turn brown after spending too much time in the fluid, while the other two looked almost the same as when they were alive.

Their skin was slowly rotting away, and all of the corpses had the signs of autopsy performed on them. A long, winding scar extended from their chests to their bellies. Some of the corpses were stitched on the waist, the scar presumably the remnants of their cause of death. One of the male corpses had a bloated head, where stitches crawled all over its face, splitting it into four parts.

The stitches were painfully obvious, but they were also cleanly done, as if they were zipped together. The quality alone was telling of Francis' skills. At the same time, Francis crossed his arms, looking around happily. "Their deaths were horrible, but I managed to sew them back together. Nobody else in Ellander has that kind of skill. You seem to be reacting well. At least you didn't piss your pants."

Roy said nothing. He was looking at the latest victim, and when he realized who it was, he was shocked.

"You know this one?"

Roy nodded, while Dennis lamented, "Tailles was one arrogant bastard, but it's really surprising that he was one of the victims."

The latest death was Arthur Tailles, the knight of the order who wanted to duel Letho when the witcher and Roy had just arrived in the city.

The killer's sending a message to the order, Roy thought.

"You know…" Francis smirked. "His death was one of the least horrible ones. Allow me to explain." He made an elegant bow and pointed at the stitches on the corpse's chest. "His body was found in an alleyway west of the castle, kneeling on the ground with his heart in his hands while facing the castle."

The imagery made Roy gasp. "What was the cause of his death?"

"I found some celandine in his body, probably from some crude anesthetic he took. The killer cut his chest apart and took his heart out." Francis raised his chin in disdain. "Honestly, the lack of elegance almost made me hurl. The killer probably has no experience in surgery. The scar's ruined by something sharp. There's no beauty in it." He spun his scalpel in his fingers at high speed.

"You sure it's caused by a sharp weapon instead of claws?"

"Are you doubting my professionalism? Well, your mentor — Letho — took a look at the wound and arrived at the same conclusion. You don't doubt your own mentor, do you?"

Roy turned to Dennis, and the dwarf nodded. Then the boy went to the next corpse. It was a pudgy, ugly middle-aged man. His mouth was open, and his thighs were bloated, but his calves were nothing but skin and bones. His body was soft and full of stitches. It reminded Roy of a crushed water balloon.

"This one was not a knight. In fact, he was nothing but a maggot to them. He was a beggar."

"A beggar?"

"Surprised, are you? And Barre's disabled. His legs don't function. All he could do was squirm around, grovel on the ground as he begged for money. I wonder why the killer took the life of a maggot like him." Francis was hyperventilating, as if he were getting excited. "Not a shred of mercy was shown to him, even at his death. He died in the most horrible way out of the six."

"Elaborate."

"He was pierced by a small tree from his anus, then it sprouted from his mouth. He was standing up thanks to the tree when he was found." Francis shook his head. "Death finally gave Barre a chance to stand up, though it's quite gruesome, I'd say."

Roy noticed the holes on the corpse, and his eyelid twitched. Are those where the branches grew from? And why'd the killer target a knight and a beggar? Is there any relation between them? Or is this random? He massaged his forehead, frustrated.

Francis ignored Roy's troubled look and went on with the introductions. "Allow me to introduce you to the third victim — Bruce "Butcher" Keg. He died in the least painful way possible. Lucky for him."

Bruce was a burly man. Aside from the stitches, Roy saw no wounds, making it the most complete corpse around. "It was a quiet, peaceful death. Cause of death? Anesthetic overdose. Cured his snores, too. His wife never has to suffer through the night again, and the community is certainly safer with his violent tendencies out of the way. The killer took out a menace, in a sense. But what intrigued me was how the killer managed to haul a big boy like him to the castle."

Roy rubbed his chin, pondering on the case, while Dennis stared at him nervously. Francis shot them a glance before going on. "And this handsome chap here was Boris the Fleetfooted. Three time reigning champion of Ellander's horse racing event, but he's been slipping as of late. Became a drunkard, even. Even if he were still alive, he would have flopped in the prelims. Now about his death… Well, it's creative, in a way. The killer's a genius. Swapped the insides of him and his horse!"

Wow, that killer's a piece of work. Makes the monsters look cute by comparison, Roy thought. Humans could be crueler than monsters at times.

"His organs were stuffed into his old friend's belly, while his belly was stuffed with his old friend's insides. In a way, they died together. Would have been lovely if not for the creative flair. But I noticed some traces of torture on his horse. It probably went on for a year or two. I guess our old chap used to vent on his friend, eh?"

***

"And now the final victims." Francis shrugged indifferently. "A Vivaldi Bank's staff member. All fingers were cut off, and his eyes were gouged out. Cause of death: excessive blood loss. A male servant of the castle got his nose and mouth sewn shut. Cause of death: asphyxiation. Same old, same old."

Roy ruminated in silence for a moment, then he looked at Francis. "Francis, I want to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think the killer did this because they have some gruesome fetish, or do they have some sort of motive?"

"Motive?" Francis tut-tutted. "Getting back at the order, I presume. If there's even one to begin with. Maybe they wanted to humiliate the order so the king would send the knights back to Temeria?"

"Did Letho tell you about his side of the investigation?"

"You should know him better than I do. He's really paranoid, and he trusts no one. That's all I have for you. You'll have to ask someone else if you want more answers." He raised his chin impatiently. "Shouldn't you be arresting the killer right about now? I have a few more bodies to process today. But if you treat me to a session at the House of Peacocks, then I can let you stay for as long as you want."

Roy and Dennis looked at each other. "Very well then, Mr. Francis. Thank you for your help." Not long after they turned around, Roy stopped in his tracks. "Mr. Francis, how long have you been working as a coroner?"

"Ten years, probably even longer. I don't really remember." Francis had made an offhand remark, spinning his scalpel around. Unbeknownst to him, Roy had cast Observe on him, getting all of his details.